Corruption Report: NRA Commissioner Given 30-Days Ultimatum, OR…

Haja Kallah, Commissioner General National Revenue Authority (NRA), has been given 30 days ultimatum with reference to unresolved Airlines payments by Kenya Airways and Air France, which no doubt, are indicative of corruption overindulgences.

This has come in the wake of the recently published 2015 audit report, which among others seemingly exposes corruption excesses of officials at NRA, and by extension CG Haja Kallah Kamara.

The report titled: “Audit on the Accounts of Sierra Leone for the financial year 2015” reveals how management of NRA failed putting in plain words reason for the splitting of payments by Kenya Airways amounting to Le517,762,786 without specifying how the payments should be apportioned.

That the payment was split over a nine-month period by NRA officers on the assumption that Le57, 529,198 was the tax paid for each month.

“The basis of the splitting cannot be determined,” the report explained.

“Comparing the monthly payment arising from the splitting to other monthly payments (October Le245, 204,978 and November Le218, 925,325), it was discovered that the splitting done by NRA was unreasonable.”

It was also revealed that Air France made a bulk payment of Le280, 963,495 without actually specifying how the payments should be apportioned too.

The payment was split equally for nine months (as was the case with Kenya Airways) by NRA officers on the assumption that Le31, 218,166 was the tax paid for each month.

Similarly, and comparing monthly payments arising from the splitting with other monthly payments (October Le93, 880,144, November Le114, 770,483), it was found out that the splitting by cabalist NRA officers was unreasonable.

To this, has seen right thinking Sierra Leoneans calling NRA’s underhanded revenue generation drive, “as having the potential of making government losing millions in the hands of unscrupulous business people and of course corrupt public officers just like that.”

Even though Lara Taylor Pearce, country’s Auditor General, has asked Haja Kallah (NRA CG) explain the basis for the splitting and the difference between the monthly payment which resulted from the splitting and the, much larger, monthly payments made by the airlines before the splitting arrangement was put in place, Sierra Leoneans want the Anti Corruption and Parliament step up legal and administrative actions, possibly bring to book all found culpable of corruption or things uncalled for of society.

The report also exposes difference in exchange rate used by airlines to the official bank of Sierra Leone rate unreasonably ignored by the NRA.

“We observed that the exchange rate used by airlines differs from the official Bank of Sierra Leone foreign exchange rate as of the date of the transactions. As such, there is an under payment of Le124, 634,274 by Royal Air Maroc and Le29, 288,409 by S N Brussels Airlines,” the report emphatically stated.

Most interesting, however, is the fact that Haja Kallah has been ordered by Audit Service to ensure that Airlines use the official bank of Sierra Leone exchange rate as at the time of transactions and the difference in payment recovered and paid to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) with immediate effect.